"She knows to go hard and that’s about all," River Valley girls basketball coach Tim Chiles said. "It doesn’t matter what the score is or where we are in the game, she just wants to do what’s best for her and the team."

Last year she was a second team pick in Division II in the Central District. This season as a 5-7 sophomore guard/forward, Stevens is D-II Central District Player of the Year as determined by a panel of media members representing the Ohio Prep Sports Writers Association.

"She’s put in a ton of work, a lot of work with us and a lot of work on her own time as well," Chiles said. "She comes in and if we have individual instruction or an open gym, she’ll be putting herself through drills and work on things alongside of what we’re doing."

The work showed on the court and on the stat sheet. Not only did the Vikings earn a second straight Mid Ohio Athletic Conference championship, but she saw her numbers improve across the board.

She averaged 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.8 steals and shot 42 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3-point line and 83 percent on free throws. Last year, she averaged 13 points and seven rebounds with two assists and three steals.

"For me, she sees the floor really well, and she’s just so determined. She’s going to get to the basket and finish," Chiles said.

Earning D-II Coach of the Year honors in the district for girls was Buckeye Valley's Travis Stout, who is in his first season as a head coach.

"It’s the players, man. I always tell people they’ve got to go out there and do what we ask them to do, and you have to give them credit for doing that," Stout said.

The Barons were 10-13 last year and 4-8 in the MOAC. This year they were league runners-up behind RV at 10-4, and before Tuesday's district semifinal game, they were 18-6 overall.

"I’m lucky," Stout said. "The coaches in the MOAC in general have accepted me into the circle, and I’ve learned a lot from those guys already by being around them and talking to them and coaching against them. They’ve forced me to raise my game up a little bit, and it’s made me a better coach."

Making first team were Cardington's Sage Brannon and Pleasant's Leah Maniaci in girls D-III, while Northmor's Meechie Johnson did so in boys D-III.